People v. Walton CA2/6

DISCUSSION

Appellant argues remand is necessary because he is serving a de facto LWOP sentence. We disagree. Section 1170, subdivision (d)(1) allows certain juvenile offenders who have served at least 15 years of an LWOP sentence to petition for recall and resentencing. People v. Heard (2022) 83 Cal.App.5th 608, 629, extended section 1170, subdivision (d)(1) to juvenile offenders serving a de facto LWOP sentence. As the pertinent facts of appellant’s case are undisputed, we review de novo his eligibility for relief under section 1170, subdivision (d)(1). (See People v. Davis (2011) 202 Cal.App.4th 429, 438.) We conclude appellant is ineligible for relief under that statute because his sentence of 40 years to life is not de facto LWOP. Setting aside avenues for earlier release, appellant’s sentence made him eligible for parole at age 57. That timetable affords him a meaningful opportunity to reintegrate into society and participate as a productive member thereof. Appellant is unlike the defendant in People v. Heard, who received a total sentence of 103 years to life. (People v. Heard, supra, 83

2 Cal.App.5th at pp. 612, 629.) Nor is his case aligned with People v. Contreras,…